Monday, 17 August 2015

People just don't know how much beer costs, it's as simple as that. And it's a fact that's beginning to get on my nerves more and more.

How often do you hear people complaining about the price of a pint, or how much a bottle of lager costs in a pub? I hear it all the time! And I find it pretty funny that no one ever looks twice at the price of a bottle of wine in a bar!!

We get it in the off trade all the time too.. People asking if we "have any deals on" or "I'm sure it's a good beer, but I'm not paying that much"

We don't do deals. We don't have 3 bottles for a fiver or any of that selling strategy. We can offer a 10% discount when you buy a case, but that's about it. We stick to a strict mark-up across our whole bottle range and believe we offer a fair price for all our beers. If they cost more, it's because the breweries sell it to us for more! It's as simple as that.

People just don't seem to understand it though. When I say to customers that we don't offer any multi-buy deals they look at me like I'm from another planet and usually leave in a huff.

It's not these people's faults though, heavens no!

It's the Supermarkets.

They've been doing it so long now we just assume that what they do is the norm. Two bottles of wine for £5, 5 beers for a tenner, or a case of twenty stubbies for less! Supermarkets have been driving down the price of alcohol for so long that our attitudes towards price have become so poisoned and deluded that we turn our noses up at a bottle of wine for £8, but are perfectly happy to pay 2 POUNDS FOR A BAG OF LETTUCE!!

LETTUCE!!!!!

Why don't we do it then? Well because we'd go out of business, simple as. All we sell is alcohol, so unfortunately we can't make massive fat profits on selling people a sandwich, packet of crisps and a drink, calling it a meal-deal for a fiver, whilst not making a margin on a bottle of beer they might buy as well.

Bring the ban on multi-buys to England, a ban on selling below cost price, and a cap on how low margins can dip on alcoholic products! We need it.

Thursday, 13 August 2015

I drank the worst beer I've ever tasted a couple of weeks ago. This is by no means an exaggeration or some sort of dick waving spiel, it was literally the worst beer I've ever had. I poured it down the drain after two mouthfuls, something I've never, ever done! (probably because I'm a Yorkshireman....)

If you're a newish brewery and you're trying to stand out, here's a really good idea/piece of advice: If one of your team comes up and says "why don't we make a beer and put A,B,C, X,Y,Z in it and then age it on some wood we found.." tell them politely, but firmly, NO. Especially if you don't have a single ounce of experience in the field said team mate suggested.

Spend some time learning how to make good beer first before you start churning out a conveyor belt of multi-ingredient garbage.

I shall not name the brewery or the beer..

Just don't give me that crap.

A similar experience was had last week which got my head in my hands again. We had just received a nice big delivery of beer upon which was a case of highly sought after and well known beer. We put it out and sold a few, job's a good-un... Two days later we got an email from the brewery.

The long and short of it was, the beer was not ready for sale. It needed few more weeks before it was ready. This was fine, at least they told us. But they also said in regards to if we should send it back or not, no, we should just keep the beer to ourselves.

Keep it till when? Keep it where? In our mass of extra cellar space?
I sent it back. If it's not ready for sale, I don't want it. That's not how you run a business.

I shall not name the brewery or the beer...

Just don't send me that crap.

Amongst the gloom there's always the good that shines through though. We got a case of beer in that was covered in a slight mold last week. Apparently the whole pallet was in a similar condition and rather unfit for sale. We called up the brewery and they said they'd get back to us.

They got back to us very shortly saying they'd used a wrong detergent in their cleaning process. They were very apologetic about the whole thing and sent someone to pick up and replace the whole lot. The whole matter was cleared up and managed very quickly, efficiently and professionally.

That's someone that cares about their product, and wants a successful business.

Me under the white sheet

One Ghost's journey through the world of beer, and an insight into said journey through random ramblings.
A beer drinker. A beer maker. A beer seller and a beer writer. Don't get me wrong though... it's not all about the beer, I also have a degree in woodwork too, so I could probably make some casks for you. It's really not all about the beer though, I also love my Scotch too, probably a little too much...
Give me Imperial Stouts and Single Malts to end the day and I'm a happy man. If you want to know anything more give me an email at Mc_WillBob@hotmail.com